IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9124 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 17 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To name the Department of Veterans Affairs communitybased outpatient clinic in Auburn, California, as the 

‘‘Louis A. Conter VA Clinic’’. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 9124 RFS

1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Louis ‘‘Lou’’ Anthony Conter was born on 

4 September 13, 1921, in Ojibwa, Wisconsin. 

5 (2) Lt. Commander Lou Conter, the last re6 maining survivor of the attack on the USS Arizona 

7 at Pearl Harbor, was an American hero. 

8 (3) On that fearful day, Petty Officer Conter 

9 helped evacuate shipmates who were blinded, wound10 ed, or burned, even restraining some of his fellow 

11 shipmates from jumping overboard into the burning 

12 sea. 

13 (4) In the days after the attack, he helped with 

14 recovering bodies and putting out fires. Lou Conter’s 

15 heroic actions saved the lives of many of his ship16 mates on December 7, 1941. 

17 (5) Following Pearl Harbor, Conter continued 

18 serving during WWII in New Guinea and in Europe 

19 as an enlisted naval aviation pilot assigned to VP20 11, a ‘‘Black Cat’’ Squadron. 

21 (6) Lou Conter would be awarded with the Dis22 tinguished Flying Cross for actively taking part in 

23 the rescue of 219 Australians trapped by Japanese 

24 troops in New Guinea. 

25 (7) Later, in the Korean War, he served on the 

26 USS Bon Homme Richard as both an intelligence 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 9124 RFS

1 officer and a navy aviation pilot. Following his serv2 ice in the Korean War, he served as a military intel3 ligence advisor to three Presidents: Dwight D. Ei4 senhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. John5 son. 

6 (8) During the 1950s, Lou Conter played a 

7 prominent role in the establishment and development 

8 of the Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Es9 cape (SERE) training program. 

10 (9) In addition to the Distinguished Flying 

11 Cross, he was awarded the Navy Commendation 

12 Medal and became the first recipient of the USS Ar13 izona Medal of Freedom. 

14 (10) Louis Conter retired from the Navy in 

15 1967 after serving 28 years as a Lieutenant Com16 mander. 

17 (11) Following his retirement, he generously 

18 gave his time to share his personal experiences at 

19 veterans’ ceremonies and by giving lectures to stu20 dents. 

21 (12) Lieutenant Commander Conter’s lectures 

22 were popular with generations of local students who 

23 were equally fascinated and enthralled by his first24 person accounts. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 9124 RFS

1 (13) He is eminently deserving of recognition 

2 for his decades of service to a grateful nation. 

3 (14) Lieutenant Commander Conter passed 

4 away in Grass Valley, California on April 1, 2024. 

5 SEC. 2. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

6 COMMUNITY-BASED OUTPATIENT CLINIC, AU7 BURN, CALIFORNIA. 

8 The Department of Veterans Affairs community9 based outpatient clinic in Auburn, California, shall after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act be known and des11 ignated as the ‘‘Louis A. Conter VA Clinic’’. Any reference 

12 to such clinic in any law, regulation, map, document, 

13 record, or other paper of the United States shall be consid14 ered to be a reference to the Louis A. Conter VA Clinic. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 16, 

2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS